Snakes & Scorpions | Prayer for Grace to Forgive

Good will can make or break a relationship. Once we see someone with a jaundiced eye, it’s virtually impossible to interpret anything they say or do without prejudice. Viewed through a dirty lens, everything is tainted. We’ve pronounced a judgment of “guilty unless proven otherwise.” That’s a difficult burden of proof for even the most perfect person.

The enemy is great at causing us to view others with suspicion (and some of us, because of our personality or past, are more susceptible to this temptation). One slight or hurt, and we assume all kinds of negative intentions. Everything thereafter is misheard and misunderstood, and our relationship begins to suffocate from the poison gas of suspicion.

Eve was the first to suffer from this poison. The serpent cast doubt on God’s goodness, and Eve fell for it. In spite of all God had blessed them with, Eve began to question God’s generosity, his good will towards them. She began to suspect that he was holding back the best and that opened the door to more lies.

Lord, fill us with your truth so we can see you clearly. Help us to trust in your goodness, to know that you are for us. Help us to receive your forgiveness, for our sins are many. Open our eyes to see the gift of your Son, to understand the enormity of your sacrifice and the measure of your love.

And then help us to forgive as we have been forgiven. No matter how many times we’ve been disappointed, help us not to poison the air with suspicion and ill will. Help us be vulnerable again.

Help us love as we have been loved, so we can be an antidote to the poison in this world. Help us assume the best and see the best in those around us. Help us to give them the benefit of the doubt. Help us to encourage others to see themselves and others through your eyes. Help us find the beauty and the good, to magnify your image and glory in all your creation.

Note: This prayer is an excerpt from my prayer journal, mostly inspired by scripture. If some of the language seems a little antiquated it’s probably because the King James was my version of choice for many years. It was not written with a public audience in mind, but if something speaks to you, by all means, pray with me.

Random Life

We did our first Financial Peace University (FPU) class this weekend. Dave Ramsey himself (the founder) admits the concepts are little more than common sense, certainly nothing revolutionary. The genius is his repackaging and marketing. Lest you think I begrudge his piece of the American Pie, let me just say I admire his creativity and […]

Maybe I was born an overachiever, but I’ve only known striving for first place. I’ve never been content with “good enough.” I’m always working for the best — and then some. This attitude works well for school and a lot of other things. The problem is, it’s not always easy to turn it off, or […]

“Mom, I never want to leave you,” he said. He was four years old. “Aren’t you going to work?” “I’ll only work on Tuesdays so I can be with you all the time.” He’s driving away in a car full of Marines. Her Marine. Her son. She calls out after him, “Don’t forget your jacket. […]

These shoes look like ordinary high tops, in the Converse style that a lot of people are wearing these days. Actually, they’re much more, and not because they’re this incredible, burnished bronze, reminiscent of something Renaissance, or because they’re so comfortable (unlike most of the hard, flat, archless versions of this style), or because they […]

It’s only a body. That’s what I said when we talked about death, mine in particular. I pictured my body in a bed (how often do people actually die in a bed?) and my spirit, the real me slipping away, suddenly untethered from its bodily constraints. Free at last. I won’t be there, I said. […]

Stories

Where in her life had she made the Wrong Turn? What had she done to deserve a barren womb? And where was God in all of this? What was the good of a God who controlled all things, if at best, he forgot you, or at worst, botched everything up?

Musing on Genesis 3 “Did God really say you can’t eat from any tree of the garden?” The serpent isn’t so much attempting to verify God’s exact words as he is injecting a note of incredulity, pointing out the absurdity of God’s edict. With one word, the serpent calls into question God’s judgment, his reasonableness. […]

God did things his way and in his time, and things were not always what they seemed. He could be trusted, but he was not predictable. This much he had learned, or perhaps was still learning. How could he explain this to Sarah? How could he expect her to hope again when he could give her none of the assurances she would expect?

This part of being with Jesus can be exasperating. It’s like you never have a quiet moment. At times I want to shut it all out, go into a dark cave and just forget about all that need pushing its way into my personal space.

Cain loved the smell of the earth. His father and mother said it was cursed. “Farming was a lot easier back in the day,” his father would say, with that faraway look in his eyes. He said God had given them the job of working the earth, and Cain enjoyed the challenge of coaxing life […]